Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1887-02-02
COLUMN.
Conducted by the W. C. t, H.. Elk Point, Oak
TIE rigYILLER VS.. TEE rARMER.


The next step was to find how
much corn would have been con.
sulned to make the beef. This was
harder to ascertain, for farmers do
not keep records as strictly us the
Internal revenue does. BY diligent
inquiring and comparison of results
as given by many farmers, / arrived
at the conclusion that fifty bushels
o: corn was a low estimate for the
amount eaten from the time the calf
commences to eat corn until its APP
pearance as beef in the market that
is, more than seven times as much
corn goes to make a beef than is used
to make the whisky which sells for
the same amount Of money. Now
| was ready for my farmer friends,
for they knew that | knew that the
chances for a mans family having
plenty of beef to eat are in Inverse
ratio to the quantity Of whisky he
drinks. So whenever they confront
me with thequestion, "Where should
we find market for our corn If dis
tilleries are closed ?" Yankee like |
reply with another question, (which
pays you best, TO put one bushel OF
corn into whisky to make a man
worse than a brute, and bring his
wife and children to the poorhouse
for you to support, or to put seven
bushels into beefto make good blood
aud Drawn and brain for that man
and MS family so they car support
themselves ~
There is another thing about this
distiling business by which the farm
ers are badly fooled. 1t is the COM
petition into which it brings their
honest, eorn-ied beef with distillery-
fed cattle. The distiller can tatten
his cattle literally upon nothing, so
far as cost to himself is concerned.
He gets his big money back for what
he pays you Tor corn, in the whisky,
while on It's leavings, which other
wise would be utterly valueless, he
tattens beef and pork, and of course
he al underseli you in the market.
This competition so lowers the price
OF beef you sell to the butcher, that
OH the amount you receive for it you
lose more than the profits OF all the
corn you can sell to the distiller.
And this loss to voE is no gain to the
consumer. The butcher asks his Gus
toner Just as much for the distillery
ted beef as be does for yours SO
Whatever money is made in the
transaction besides that made by tie
distilier, goes into this middle-man's
pocket, not into yonrs.
We rise no higher now than the
level of your pocket-book, There is
a sanitary and moral phase to the
distillery-beef question that we adj
wise you to study UP in the loath-
some stalls where distillerv-fed cat
tie are kept. Aside from all that
have | not made out a case strong
enough to convince you thatthe mar
ket for your corn will not he de-
stroyedl by shutting up the distlllery?.
This seems TO be the only thing in
the way of your voting for extermi-
mating the business root and branch,
il 81 why not come out now and vote
for prohibition
The distillers have fooled you long
enough by their cry, "Nomarket fol
corn without distilleries." They fool
you in regard 10 the proportion OF
corn used in thrirnefarious business,
The number Of bushels 50 used, Civ
en IN the aggregate, seems enormous
and without comparing it with the
whole amount raised in the State
yon are sure to think the proportions
much greater than it really il. Blu.
comparing it with the entire crop,
The amount used bv the dis~tilleri'es
is but q drop III the bucket. BY
careful computation in Illinois i
proves TO be one peck for each man